Culture Night 2016 – a chance to develop Limerick’s cultural rebirth

The success of the Culture Night project nationally over the past 10 years is a reflection of a society that yearns not just for a quality cultural experience but one that craves engagement with others and values a sense of community.

We live in an age when multimedia and technology are the dominant forces in dictating how we live our lives. Why bother experiencing a gallery, a theatre space or a dance performance when everything we need is at the click of a button?

A feast for all the senses is promised for this years Culture Night in Limerick. Launching the event were, Deputy Mayor Cllr. Michael Hourigan, Sheila Deegan, Arts and Culture Officer with Limerick City and County Council and Noel Darragh Martin, Pattern Dance Culture.

Life in Limerick over the last number of years has been positively affected by a renewed focus on culture. Where in the past we may have seen ourselves as predominantly a sporting city, we can now pride ourselves as a city where a cultural renaissance is underway.

Our successful delivery of a National City of Culture programme in 2014 followed by our 2 year bid for European Capital of Culture allowed our cultural community to soul search who we are, what we can achieve and where we want to be.

We may not have been successful in the bid process but that does not mean our cultural rebirth must put on hold. If anything, it has allowed us to learn many lessons that will stand to us into the future.

This year’s Culture Night programme in Limerick is once again jam-packed with events across the city and county. Friday 16th October will be an evening where families, individuals and visitors to our region will be treated to a showcase of our very best cultural offerings.

The main hubs of activity in the city will focus on the Hunt Museum and Rutland St/Patrick St area, Dance Limerick and Limerick Printmakers, Mary Immaculate College and Limerick City Gallery of Art.

A drop-in Culture Night info hub will be located in the Tourist Office on O’Connell St from 5-10pm which will allow participants to maximise their Culture Night experience.

Some of the highlights of Culture Night in Limerick will include a specially designed and digitally fabricated collaborative sculpture where members of the public will work with the FabLab to create a unique assembly at the Hunt Museum.

Mungret Heritage will reimagine the years 1937 and 1938, years when pupils at the former National Schools when boys and girls captured stories of local folklore and heritage.

The global headquarters of Narrative 4’s on O’Connell St will be opened to the public where this fascinating new charity, focussed on empathy through storytelling, will be explained.

The Limetree Theatre will present the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra performing hits by Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison and David Bowie as Gaeilge.

Every member of Limerick society, young or old, is encouraged to experience Culture Night 2016. Not only is it a fun night, it gives Limerick citizens a superb opportunity to experience our cultural offering, to engage with new places and open our eyes to diverse cultural genres.

The future of culture in Limerick is in the hands of all those who partake, express curiosity and seek civic and community experiences. Culture Night 2016 is just a snapshot of what our city and county can offer. It will not disappoint.